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As devastated friends plan a candlelight vigil for their "amazing" Tricia Boisvert, known for her infectious laugh, another family is pleading for her suspected killer to come home.

﻿"Please come home.... we love you mom & Kayla," reads an online post from Philippe Steele-Morin's mom, Rita, who wrote she hasn't slept in days.

The search for the fun-loving 36-year-old Boisvert, described as "smart, welcoming and charming," ended in tragedy Thursday, when she was found dead in a remote area near Quyon, Que.

But a manhunt for her suspected killer, also her longtime friend, continues.

Steele-Morin, 30, is well-known to police, with a lengthy criminal history. He is currently wanted in Gatineau for an unrelated domestic assault, and has an Ontario bench warrant for drug trafficking and proceeds of crime.

"I knew he struggled. He was in and out of jail," said a family friend, who used to work with Steele-Morin's mother and brother at a health store in Gatineau. Steele-Morin and his siblings were mostly raised by his single mother, who had financial difficulties. "I know she was struggling with him. She doesn't know where he's at. She wants him to come home."

Thursday brought a horrific end to days of searching for Boisvert, who was last seen at her Montreal home on Friday.

"People need to know who she is, not who she was. So many people are better people because of her," said close friend Rebecca Appleby Rubinski, who has known Boisvert since they were teens. "She is this amazing person that touched everyone in their own way. Whatever these people did, they can't take my memories away."

Forensic investigators pored over the isolated wooded area in the bitter cold on Thursday, where there are very few homes nearby, and even less traffic.

Boisvert was likely killed in Montreal and dumped in the remote area, her friends, who have spoken to police, told the Sun. Her black Pontiac G6 police were also looking for may have been taken to a wrecking yard and destroyed, they said.

Her sister Mellisa is expected to arrive in Ottawa, from the West Coast, by this weekend.

Boisvert had worked as an exotic dancer. She did not have children, but was aunt to a nephew and a new niece.

She touched everyone who knew her, and was always ready to help out and take care of her friends.

"She's not just somebody. She's Tricia. She made most of us," said Rubinski.

The public is welcome to join a candelight vigil in memory of Boisvert, at the violence against women monument in Minto Park, along Elgin St., at 7 p.m. Friday.

There has been one arrest in the Boisvert case. A suspect arrested in Montreal on Wednesday is believed to have been with Steele-Morin on Friday.

Ottawa native Tricia Boisvert missing in Montreal

This is the car of Tricia Boisvert. The former Ottawa woman, who now calls Montreal home, was reported missing on Friday, Jan. 17, 2014. She had been expected in Ottawa that weekend. Police fear she might be the victim of a kidnapping. Submitted photo.

QMI

A photo of Philippe Steele, who also goes by the last name Morin. Police in Montreal want to talk to him about the disappearance of Tricia Boisvert. The former Ottawa woman, who now calls Montreal home, was reported missing on Friday, Jan. 17, 2014. She had been expected in Ottawa that weekend. Police fear she might be the victim of a kidnapping. (GATINEAU POLICE submitted image)

PHOTO COURTOISIE/SERVICE DE POLICE DE GATINEAU

Philippe Steele-Morin (GATINEAU POLICE submitted image)

Montreal cops outside the Notre Dame St. West apartment complex of Tricia Boisvert, 36. She went missing from this complex on Friday, Jan. 17, 2014 and police believe the Ottawa native was abducted. (PASCAL GIRARD/AGENCE QMI)

PASCAL GIRARD/AGENCE QMI

Montreal cops outside the Notre Dame St. West apartment complex of Tricia Boisvert, 36. She went missing from this complex on Friday, Jan. 17, 2014 and police believe the Ottawa native was abducted. (PASCAL GIRARD/AGENCE QMI)

PASCAL GIRARD/AGENCE QMI

Police guard a rural area just outside Quyon, west of Gatineau, where the body of Tricia Boisvert was found on Thursday. (DANIELLE BELL Ottawa Sun)

The body of Tricia Boisvert, a 36-year-old Ottawa native who had been living in Montreal, was found near Quyon on Thursday Jan 23, 2014. The village is about 30 km west of Gatineau in the Pontiac region of Quebec. Police on the scene Thursday. Tony Caldwell/Ottawa Sun/QMI Agency

The body of Tricia Boisvert, a 36-year-old Ottawa native who had been living in Montreal, was found near Quyon on Thursday Jan 23, 2014. The village is about 30 km west of Gatineau in the Pontiac region of Quebec. Police on the scene Thursday. Tony Caldwell/Ottawa Sun/QMI Agency

The body of Tricia Boisvert, a 36-year-old Ottawa native who had been living in Montreal, was found near Quyon on Thursday Jan 23, 2014. The village is about 30 km west of Gatineau in the Pontiac region of Quebec. Police on the scene Thursday. Tony Caldwell/Ottawa Sun/QMI Agency

Tricia Boisvert's body found near Quyon

Police continue hunt for suspect Philippe Steele-Morin

The search for Tricia Boisvert has ended. The search for her killer, however, is continuing.

Police sources say the body of Boisvert, a 36-year-old Ottawa native who had been living in Montreal, was found near Quyon on Thursday.

The village is about 30 km west of Gatineau in the Pontiac region of Quebec.

During the afternoon, officers from the MRC des Collines police force were blocking areas around Proven Rd. and Beaudoin Rd., as forensic investigators combed the wooded area where she was found. The site is just northeast of Quyon off Highway 148.

It is rural and isolated, with few homes in the surrounding area and barely any traffic. Investigators are expected to remain at the scene for several more hours, well into darkness.